26th January 2015 London, UK
Written by Marie Jenkinson – a caseworker in the Forced Marriage Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Forced Marriage Unit Helpline: 0207 008 0151 Forced marriage is an appalling and indefensible practice and is recognised in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic and child abuse, and a serious […]
4th July 2014 London, UK
Guest blog by Preet, who is a survivor of a Forced Marriage and Honour Based Abuse. Here is her story. I was born a British Citizen into a very strict and orthodox Sikh family, outside of the UK. My upbringing was very oppressive and the family culture was also suppressive towards the women in the […]
4th July 2014 London, UK
Sophie Lott is a case worker in the Forced Marriage Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The first thing I do when I get into work is check for my case updates on the computer – hoping that Nina* did attend the British High Commission overseas where my colleagues could check she was ok […]
4th July 2014 London, UK
Neelam Farooq: senior Consular Assistance, British High Commission Islamabad. It’s Monday morning and I walk into the office with yesterday’s rescue still echoing in my mind, which was in essence a cry for help from a teenage girl Yasmeen*, who is a potential victim of forced marriage. We deal with over 100 cases of Forced […]
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6th March 2013 London, UK
In the lead up to International Women’s Day on Friday, we are featuring the stories of women who work for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as guest articles across the FCO bloggers’ network. Carole Johnson is a Team Leader in the FCO’s Global Response Centre (GRC). It operates around the clock, 365 days a year, […]
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21st December 2012 London, UK
The following is a guest post by Foreign Office Minister, Mark Simmonds. Over the last two weeks we’ve brought you a series of blogs from our consular staff from around the world. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading about some of the work we do to support British nationals abroad, and gained some insight into what […]
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20th December 2012 London, UK
Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year in Mexico. There are lights hanging everywhere, everyone is buying Christmas presents and arranging a family reunion with a fancy dinner. Our Mexican celebrations are the fusion of indigenous and Spanish traditions, seasoned with a bit of influence from the USA. The celebration starts with our […]
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19th December 2012 London, UK
The end of the year is a fun time to be in Goa. The festive season starts with the Hindu festivals of Ganesh Chaturthi and Diwali, then you have the various church feasts that honour the patron saints of each village. In December, Roman Catholics celebrate the feast of St. Francis Xavier, the patron saint […]
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18th December 2012 London, UK
Canada is a wonderful place for the holiday season, with many exciting diversions and snow going hand in hand. Many tourists travel to the west coast, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, to enjoy world class skiing. Others savour the festival of lights at Niagara Falls, or go skating on the world’s largest outdoor ice […]
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17th December 2012 London, UK
Thanks to Joanna Lumley’s wonderful documentary about her trip to Norway – and her frantic search for the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) – Norway has become a popular destination for British tourists all year round. For people searching for beautiful fjords, midnight sun, Northern Lights or rugged mountains, Norway has a lot to offer. But […]
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